Wild World
by Igiveup
Summary: Alternate Universe: Gene Hunt has an accident, and wakes up in a completely different world. Is he in a coma? Is he mad?
1. Chapter 1

_**Alternate Universe, in case it isn't already obvious. Characters are also not mine, as evident by the fact this is being posted on a site called FANFICTION dot net. I started writing this before series 3 had even started, but since the very premise of this story already made it AU I didn't see any point in going back and changing much.**_

**_And now that I've seen the finale, this will definately be an Alternate Series 3. So forget about everything you learned in the finale. This will be completely different._**

* * *

"Careful, Gene!" Alex shouted, reaching for her seatbelt as Gene struggled to gain traction on the icy road.

"Hold tight, Bolly. Those bastards aren't getting away that easily."

"Let's hope they crash into a light post before we do," Alex noted ruefully. She decided to take it as a good sign that Gene neither responded to her words or the click of her fastening her seat belt. It meant that he had his attention on the road. Hopefully, anyway.

How ironic was it that Chris, as well as Ray and Shaz, had had enough sense to not engage bank thieves on a high speed chase during a blizzard? Of course, the thieves weren't proving themselves overtly bright, either.

Alex glanced over at Gene to see that he had a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel. She turned her attention back to the windscreen, and immediately wished she hadn't. In front of them was an almost solid wall of white. She could just barely make out the tail lights in front of them.

"Maybe it would be safer if we went back to the bank and looked for clues as to the thieves identities there?" Alex suggested, not really expecting an answer.

"Oi, the rest of the team's got that covered Bolls. 'Sides, weather's not that bad."

"Speak for yourself," Alex muttered, but she did detect a note of uncertainty in his voice. Perhaps common sense would prevail before they would crash.

"Oh, Molly. Keep your fingers crossed for me love," Alex whispered as Gene careened around a corner,the Quattro almost flipping over in the process.

"Please Gene, can we stop now?" she asked, knowing it was probably in vain.

Gene's face gained a thoughtful expression, even as he continued to struggle to keep the Quattro going in a straight line.

"Eyes on the road, Guv!" Alex yelped as Gene breifly glanced in her direction.

"Sorry." Gene quickly turned his attention back to the road.

The wipers continued to go back and forth at full speed, to little avail. Alex found herself wondering where she'd wind up if they did crash. When Gene had accidentally shot her, she had wound up in a pseudo 2009. Would she go there again? Or would she end up somewhere else entirely? Maybe where ever Sam ended up after he had died in 1980? Sam had met his end during a jewelry blag; and now it appeared that Alex and Gene would meet a similar fate during a bank robbery.

That was something else that Alex found herself wondering about: If Gene were a real person, as evidence seemed to prove more and more, where would his mind end up going, should he wind up in Sam and Alex's positions? Did all souls travel, or were she, Summers and Sam special cases? She was not exactly eager to find out.

Beside her, Gene uttered a loud curse. "I don't see them anymore, Bolly. Do you?"

"I can't see anything, including traffic lights." Now Alex was really starting to get scared. "You don't suppose the storm knocked them out, do you?"

"Don't know."

"Now can we stop Gene? Just pull over to the shoulder." Realising that Gene was going to have a bit of difficulty finding the shoulder, she added, "At the very least, can we slow down?"

Gene nodded and shifted his foot to the break. Nothing happened. He pressed down more forcefully, and the car began to skid. A knot of panic formed in Alex's gut, rising upwards as Gene struggled to regain control. Unable to think of anything else to do, Alex closed her eyes and tried to brace herself for the impact that she knew was coming, any moment now. Through her eyelashes, she saw Gene reach for the emergency brake.

"Dammit! Hang on, Bolls!"

Without opening her eyes, Alex nodded. _Dear God, please! _she prayed.

Suddenly, something slammed into the Quattro on the driver's side, sending the vehicle flying sideways. Alex's head slammed against the passenger side window, and everything went dark.

Gusts of icy cold wind awakened her. Next to her was a continuous mournful drone that made her throbbing head hurt even worse. Cautiously, she opened her eyes. She saw that her window had been smashed, and the part of the windscreen directly in her line of vision was now covered with spiderweb like cracks. She could feel a stickiness on her face that she soon realised was blood. She then tried to move her right arm. A blinding white hot bolt of pain shot up her shoulder and seared her brain.

"Bad idea," she croaked. The droning had not ceased. Very slowly, she turned her head----and her heart nearly stopped beating altogether. Gene was slumped over the steering wheel, his entire face covered with blood.

Alex found she could move her left arm without too much difficulty, and searched for a pulse.

"Thank God," she breathed. A pulse was still there, albeit a weak and unsteady one. "Hold on, Guv."

What should she do? Stay where she was until help arrived? Would any help arrive? How would anyone see them in this storm? Attempts at moving the right side of her body made her both want to scream and vomit, the agony was so bad. But she couldn't shake the nagging fear that if she didn't go looking for help, it might not arrive in time to save Gene.

_"Mummy?"_

Alex looked up. Standing right outside her window was a little girl in a school uniform, her hair untossled by the wind.

"Molly?" Alex rasped. Though she knew it was useless, she still begged. "Help us, please."

_"Mummy," _Molly's voice rose above the wind. _"The doctors said you had a stroke, you might be paralyzed when you wake up."_

_Damn it,_ Alex silently cursed. As if she didn't have enough problems as it was.

_"I have to go now, Mummy. I'm sorry..."_

"No, Molly. Come back, please," Alex said weakly. But Molly paid no heed, vanishing into the storm.

"Now what?" Alex whimpered. "What do I do now?"

At any moment she expected to hear the voices of her 2009 doctors. But of what use would they be? For the very first time since her arrival to the eighties, Alex did not want to wake up. The doctors back home couldn't help Gene. They'd just dismiss her story as one long dream; the same way she had dismissed Sam years ago.

The car horn was still blaring. She wished Gene would wake up. She certainly knew better than to move him. Not that she was physically capable of that at the moment anyway. Besides, perhaps the horn would act as a beacon, and guide help to them. Alex was in no shape to hunt it down herself, she knew that.

"Cold ... so cold..."

Part of her longed to drift into a deep sleep, to escape the cold and the pain. But she forced herself to stay awake.

"If you can feel, you're alive," she murmured, repeating the words Sam had left on his tape. The very last words in his message. He was right. As long as she could feel the cold wind in her face and the agony in her body she could at least be certain of one thing.

"Boss! Guv!"

Was Alex hearing things? She forced herself to concentrate.

"Boss! Guv!" The cry came again. It sounded like Ray.

"Over here!" Alex called out as loudly as she could, which did not seem nearly loud enough.

A few moments later, three figures came into view. Ray, nearly slipping on the ice was first to reach the vehical, with Chris and Shaz close behind.

"Jesus Christ!" Ray called out in alarm. "Chris, radio an ambulance, and be quick about it."

"Don't fall," Alex said. They didn't need Chris injuring himself by slipping on the ice.

Shaz leaned over Ray's shoulder. "Is the Guv still alive?"

"Yes," Alex answered. "But he's hurt bad, can't get him to wake up."

"Hold on, the ambulance should be here soon."

"The storm will slow them down a bit," Ray pointed out.

"They'll get here in time, I'm sure of it," Shaz insisted.

_Wish I had your optomisim dear, _Alex thought to herself. She still wanted to sleep, but it wasn't safe yet. She needed to be in the care of the doctors in this world as well. It might be the only thing keeping her 2009 self from dying and leaving her stranded here. And there was Gene, as well. She needed to know how he was before she could rest easy.

Chris came back into view just then. Together, he and Shaz looked impossibly young. More like frightened children instead of grown coppers. It reminded her about how she had sort of adopted them, as a method of trying to fill the void caused by her separation from Molly. A temporary bandage, but helpful all the same. Chris had his arm around Shaz's shoulders, and it was clearly as much for his benefit as it was hers.

The three of them did their best to keep Alex awake, talking about old cases or whatever nonsense they could think of. At one point Chris got so desperate he started singing "Life on Mars." If she weren't in such pain and worried about Gene Alex might have laughed.

After what felt like hours, the sound of sirens filled the air. Alex's stomach resumed tying itself in knots. She and Gene would have to ride in seperate ambulances; and since she was injured as well, how long would it be before she would get word on his condition? Her eyes stung.

"Ray's going to ride with the Guv, and Chris and I will go with you," Shaz said reassuringly, moving out of the way as Alex was removed from the car and placed on the stretcher.

The Quattro was badly smashed.

_Gene's going to be crushed, _Alex thought. _That car was his baby. _She wondered what would be more expensive, buying a new car or repairing the old one. Perhaps the team could set up a fund... she'd have to remember to ask them about it later.

Trying to focus on the car did little to distract Alex from her fears for Gene and herself---in both worlds.

Was Molly's message true? Had Alex's 2009 self had a stroke? She knew she wouldn't have instantly been able to get up and run around after being shot in the head, which had been the key to her learning that the 2009 she thought she had returned to was fake. Now she was wondering just how damaged her body would be if she ever did manage to make it home. Would Evan and Molly be forced into the roles of round the clock caregivers? Would Evan hire a live in nurse, or would Alex be placed in a home?

"Don't worry, Mum, you'll be all right," Chris said softly. "And Ray will give us word about the Guv when he knows anything."

Upon their arrival at the hospital, Chris and Shaz were directed to a waiting area while Alex was taken back for tests and x-rays.

If her right arm had been unbroken before the crash, the x-ray technician was quick to fix that problem, forcing Alex's unwilling arm to move in the nessary positions for he pictures.

After all the flurry of activity had finally settled down, Alex was discovered to have a broken arm and lacerations on her face from the broken glass that required stitches. Despite her headache she miraculously did not have a concussion, but she was going to be kept in the hospital for several days for observation. The doctors would not shut up about how lucky she was.

"Your guardian angel was looking out for you tonight, deary," an elderly nurse said as she set up Alex's morphine drip.

_Yeah, that's why I had a stroke in 2009 and my best friend in 1983 is in worse shape than I am._

Chris, Shaz and Ray came into her room.

"The doctors said that they gave you something for the pain?"

Alex nodded. She was already starting to feel drowsy.

"Any word on the Guv? Don't lie!" she insisted, trying not to slur her words.

Chris and Shaz huddled close together and looked over at Ray, who had his eyes on the floor. Eons passed. Finally Ray said, "It was driver's side impact---that's why the Guv got hurt worse than you." Ray took a deep breath. "The Guv's in a coma. The doctors don't know when he'll wake up."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Well, time to get started with the actual crossover part of this crossover! Characters do not belong to me. Never have, never will.**_

* * *

Gene could hear voices all around him. The team, telling him to hold on. Strangers voices talking about blood pressure, internal bleeding, and other medical jargon that sounded like complete gibberish to Gene's ears There was this niggling feeling that there should be pain-that the absence of it was a bad thing. There was something else too. Something important-some ONE important.

"Bolly," Gene said, or thought he did. He had heard the name, but he wasn't sure if his lips had moved or not. What the hell happened?

"We crashed," Gene's voice said again. But again the DCI wasn't sure if his lips had moved or not.

"Bolly?" Was she all right? Gene thought that he had heard her voice before, telling him to hold on. Was that just his imagination? Before the crash, she had tried to get him to slow down, he remembered that much. Oh, God... if she had been hurt, it would be his fault, same as the shooting had been.

Throughout all of this, Gene steadily became aware of a drumming sound that gradually increased in volume until it was almost deafening. It took Gene a few moments to realise that it was his heart-and then everything went silent.

The next sound that Gene heard was the sound of pouring rain on a car roof. Rain-not snow or hail as it had been a few moments before. He could also hear the swish-swish of the wipers, and a voice singing what sounded like a sea shanty. The voice sounded like a sailor straight out of a Hollywood movie.

"What the 'ell?" Gene wondered. What kind of ambulance was this? Since when do drivers _sing _while transporting patients?

It was then that Gene became aware of the fact that he was sitting upright, not lying down. Also, that aside from a bit of grogginess, he felt perfectly fine. Which made no sense at all for someone who had been in a crash. Gene opened his eyes, blinking several times until his vision came back into focus.

Looking around, Gene saw that he was in the backseat of a cab. Outside the windows was a solid wall of water. The rain was coming down too hard to see much of anything except some blurry trees.

"Ahoy, matey!" The cabbie yelled suddenly, causing Gene to jump back in alram.

"Don't do that!" he snapped. Gene leaned forward to get a better look at the driver and stopped. Something... something wasn't right about this bloke. In fact something was very wrong indeed. He was wearing what appeared to be some sort of animal costume. A turtle, Gene guessed. The head was two sizes too large- out of proportion with the rest of his body.

He was dark green, save for a mouth(or was that a beak? Maybe it was a parrot costume? Gene thought, confused) that was bright yellow. On top of this he wore a cabbie uniform. But what sort of cab driver wears an animal costume?

The mask was the most disturbing part: with eyes that blinked and moved about naturally in their sockets, and the mouth/beak thing that formed words perfectly whenever its owner spoke. The life like features were almost more unnerving than a rigid mask would be. It was as if the driver were an actual animal, and not a man in a costume at all. Gene shook his head, feeling like an idiot for thinking something so bizarre.

_Oi, Tyler and Bolly be good people, but their weirdo thoughts 'ave started rubbin' off on me._

Speaking off, where was Alex? For that matter, where was Gene? The last thing he clearly remembered was chasing after bank robbers in a blizzard, and then...

"Bolly! Where is she?" Gene demaned.

"Eh, matey? Who be this Bolly?" The cabbie sounded geniuenly puzzled, and his eyes(could they be his real eyes, and not part of the mask? Seemed far too huge though...) showed honesty.

"The bird who was in the car with me," Gene clairifed. "She all right?"

"Ye must've been dreaming, lad. Ain't had no other passengers but you."

Gene sat back in shock. If Alex wasn't here, did that mean he had dreamt the crash? Or maybe this was the dream-why else would he be in the back of a cab driven by a man in a turtle/parrot costume?

But everything felt so real here. He could feel the leather of the seats, and the chill of the cab's air conditionor. He rolled down his window and felt cold raindrops splash on his face.

The accident with Alex had also felt real though. So which was the dream? They couldn't both be real, there would be a huge window of missing time otherwise. As far as Gene could tell, no real time had passed at all.

"I don't believe I ever got yer name, ye sea squid," annouced the cabbie, startling Gene.

"Name's Hunt, Gene Hunt," Gene answered, too puzzled to do anything else.

"Aye, that's burly! A strong name for a strong man."

Okay... Gene thought. His driver was already queer, was he a fairy too? He wanted to demand to be let out, but outside there was only wilderness. He considered demanding to be returned to London.

"My name be Kapp'n," the cabbie introduced himself.

A take on the word 'captain'. _Figures, _Gene thought.

"Oi! Where are we going?" Gene asked. "Turn this cab around, I need to get back to London."

"We be sailing fer Animal Villiage, Gene. Your new home."

"New home?" Gene shouted. "Turn this bloody cab around right now or else..."

"Listen you urchin! It's only natural to get cold feet when moving into a new place, but once you get settled in, you should be fine."

Gene wondered if he could take the driver out. Maybe then he could turn the cab around and drive himself home. But nothing looked familiar outside. Gun point could work. He reached for his gun, and to his horror discovered that he no longer had it.

It was also at that point that Gene finally became aware that he was wearing a completely different set of clothes. He now wore a bright yellow t-shirt with a giant black paw print on it, tan shorts, and blue tennis shoes.

What on the hell was going on? Had he been drugged, put in these new clothes and smuggled off in this cab? How or when did this happen? Unless his first theory was correct and he was just dreaming all of this. Just which was it? Both Alex and Sam had made mention of something called Occman's Razor: the simplest solution is often the correct one. But Gene couldn't decide which of his theories was the simplest. Even the dream theory had its share of complications. This just felt so goddamn real.

Then again, maybe the crash really did happen, and he was in a hospital bed, high as a kite on whatever drugs it was the doctors have given him. When he woke up, he'd have to ask what they were so he could demand something different. All of this was just too weird for him.

"This is kidnapping!" Gene told Kapp'n angrily. Even if it was a dream, his request to be taken back had been denied. Kapp'n was holding him against his will. Gene was determined to have some control over this nonsense until he could wake up. Which might be awhile if he were really in the hospital. He knew the doctors would sometimes have to keep you under for several days, if you were hurt bad enough. He was also _not _looking forward to the pain he knew he'd be in once he did wake up.

"Sorry to frighten you, matey," Kapp'n said apologetically. "It's just that we're almost there already, and since you already sold your old place... Don't you remember? You weren't asleep for that long."

Maybe Gene could play along, just for a little while. Might make things speed up faster than fighting them would. And he was starting to get a little curious as to what exactly this new "home" looked like.

"Yeah, I remember," Gene lied. "Almost there you said? About how much longer will it be?"

"No more than ten, fifteen minutes tops," Kapp'n told him.

Gene settled back in his seat. The steady rain on the roof was oddly soothing. Maybe it would lull him to sleep so that he could wake up for real this time. It may have sounded nonsensical, but no more so than anything else that had happened. He closed his eyes, trying to will himself back to reality; whether that be his own bed at home or a hospital bed hooked up to an I.V. drip.

With the second option, there was the chance that Alex would be at his bedside. Then again, with the first, it would mean that he had not come drangerously close to almost killing her a second time. If the crash was real, Alex had survived it, right? She must have, he had heard her voice before, telling him to hold on. Unless he just imagined it, same as he was imagining this cab ride.

No, no way in hell. He had heard her voice, Gene told himself insistantly, unable to think so otherwise.

"Aye, we've made landfall, m'laddie," Kapp'n's voice snapped Gene from his thoughts. "An' it looks like the rain has finally let up, too."

Indeed, there was not so much as a cloud in the sky. What on earth?

Gene saw that the cab had pulled up in front of a large, one story building.

"This here be the town hall; if you have any questions, this is where you ask."

'If' he had any questions? Questions were all that he had. He stepped out of the cab to look around. There was a cobblestone plaza in front of the bulding. Just to the left was a wooden buliten board covered with paper notices. They appeared to be dry.

Behind him, Kapp'n suddenly gunned the engine. Before Gene could even turn around, the cab zoomed off into the distance.

"Oi! You bastard! You can't just leave me here! Didn't even stay long enough to pick up his tab... not that I'd have given him one."

Gene decided to go inside the town hall. Maybe there he could finally get some answers as to what was going on.

Inside, Gene saw two bank teller windows. Everything in the place appeared to be wooden, save for the dumpster to his right. Gene went to take a closer look. "Recycling bin, eh?" Gene opened it. To his disapointment, it was empty.

"Can I help you?" a female voice asked from behind him.

Gene turned to find himself face-to-face with a giant pelican. _Just another costume, like that Kapp'n bloke. _Gene told himself. Now that he was up close to such a mask, he found himself even more unnerved by how life like it appeared. There was also the fact that the voices had not been the slightest bit muffled, as they should be when wearing such masks.

Just what was with these people? First a parrot/turtle thing, and now a pelican? What was it Kapp'n called this place? Animal Village? Did that mean everyone here was dressed like an animal?

_Should've brought my Tufty costume, _Gene thought wryly. _I'd have blended right in._ Once again it seemed like he was a magnet for weirdos. Only this time, instead of the weirdos coming to him, he had gone to them.

"My name is Pelly, welcome to the town hall," the pelican said. Gene noticed that she was wearing a pink dress with a white ribbon tied around her neck in a bow.

"Name's Hunt. Came here by cab-"

"Oh! You're the one who just moved in! Tom Nook told us about you!" Pelly interrupted Gene.

"Who's this Tom Nook?" Gene asked, somewhat unerved that someone he had never heard of apparently knew about him.

"He's the one who built your house!" Pelly answered cheerfully. "You're sharing it with Sam."

"Nobody said nothing about a roommate!" Gene said. He didn't want to have to _live _with one of these weirdos!

"Don't worry, Sam's very nice. He's just a little quiet. Having a roomate is fun, you'll see."

Before Gene could say another word, Pelly put a map in his hands.

"Here, you can use this to find your house!" she said, going behind one of the bank teller windows.

Realising that he probably wasn't going to get anywhere with Pelly, Gene went back outside. He looked over the map. The homes and businesses were clearly marked. There were only two stores, Nookington's and Able Sisters.

"Nookington's? As in Tom Nook?" Gene wondered aloud. Maybe he should go there for answers, considering the bloke already knew who he was. Maybe he'd know how Gene could get out of here.

Nook was probably as crazy as Kapp'n and Pelly. Gene would have to be careful. He just hoped th bastard didn't know how to fight.

_Better keep in mind you're outnumbered in this place, _Gene told himself. A part of him still cried out that this was just a drug-induced dream, but it was already growing more difficult to believe it.

After one last glance at the map to see where "his" house was, Gene headed off to Nookington's, hoping he could finally get answers to the questions that he had.


End file.
